Zenesis ZN502 AS

as all of you know i am a modder like the rest of us. well recently i bought my biggest mod to date: the Zenesis 502 Alarm and Starter. A state of the art alarm with all the trimmings, so to say. It comes with all your standard features, Valet Mode, starter kill, driving door locks,dual shock sensor, active/passive arming, built in turbo timer, and clutch bypass... and just to name a few. You can take a look at all the features of the system at their website, which i will leave at the end of my review.

Now on to my review. Most people are content with the factory alarm that comes with the car, well not me. My search started over seven months ago, i wanted an alarm that wasn't the standard alarm like the popular Vipers and Compustar ones. Well while searching i came across the Zenesis line of alarms. To say the least i was very impressed with all the features that were listed, but what caught my eye the most at first was the remote. The remotes are very sleek, modern and sophisticated.

I love the way this remote looks, not like standard remotes with the cheesy looking car or huge antenna sticking out of the top of it. Also another huge plus that won me over is the way that the screen lights up, only what you need to see lights up unlike other remotes that the whole screen lights up. Plus all the buttons are along the side and not on the face of the remote, a huge plus if you ask me.

Another feature of the Zenesis that i love is the Z-Pass, its a touch pad that you can use to lock, unlock and page the driver with. All you have to do is enter a 4-10 digit code that you can make up and you never have to worry again.
I don't know how many people lock their keys in the car but i have done it a few times and it sucks, trust me. Not only are you with no keys but now you have to call someone to come out and unlock your car which can cost more money then needs to be spent.Here is a video of how the Z-Pass works:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3shb41W_t4[/media]

Here are a couple videos of the alarm system in action:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMTQjxqc0As[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONtnLwmojsw[/media]
(no the alarm doesnt make those sounds, that is an extra that the car owner added on)
This alarm also has great range, 1 mile (open), i haven't had a chance to test this but i can tell you that i haven't had any issues with the alarm brain getting signals from the remote so far.

Now im sure there are a few people out there that are thinking "im not that good at wiring" or " I'll have to take it to someone to install it for me"... Not true, you can indeed install this system on your own and it wont give you a brain aneurysm in the process. The amazing techs at Zenesis teamed up with a company called Fortin Electronics to create a bypass system that is almost completely plug and play. Lets put it this way folks I had to connect less wires then you can count on both hands total, six wires total to be exact. The Fortin Bypass kit that is needed for the second gen Avengers is the EVO-CHR with the T-Harness type 2. This is how easy it is to connect the bypass kit to the car itself:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTwSWYHjhyo[/media]

With our Avengers there is one wire that needs to be hooked up to the alarm from the Fortin and thats the yellow(ignition 1) wire that connects to the violet(ignition 1 output) wire on the alarm. As you saw the T-Harness plugs into the ignition cylinder and the plug, then connects to the Fortin unit itself. Other then that there is a four wire plug in data connect that plugs into the Fortin and into the Zenesis. Then there is a few standard wires that need to be wired in like the 12 volt power and the ground and such. It doesn't get much easier then that, years ago i installed a shaved door kit that had more wires then that and to say the least didn't come out quite as successful as this did. Here is a list of Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler vehicles and what T-Harness that they require:

Along with everything that you will need to install the Fortin Bypass kit Fortin Electronics sends you a code to their exclusive Wire Color wiring diagram. It lists all the necessary wires needed, what color(s) they are, what connector they go to and exactly where they are located and a picture for each one.Totally takes the guess work out of where and wire you need to use , no more hours on end trying to find the correct wire...

Alright now that i have given some details on the alarm and bypass kit i want to share my experience with Zenesis and Fortin electronics... i have to say that i have never in my life met more friendly and helpful people ever in my life...EVER! Every time i called i greeted with the nicest receptionist that has every answered my phone calls. The tech department was always very helpful, taking time to answer all my calls, questions, and emails and trust me i bugged them a lot while making the decision to buy. My sales reps where beyond professional, answering all the questions that i had and not being pushy while i made my decision.

All in all my fellow modders i don't know what else i can say, i am completely satisfied with this alarm, the bypass kit, and BOTH companies. I would be more then willing to buy another alarm and bypass kit and am actually considering doing so for my wife's truck and getting rid of her Viper...

Hope this review helps anyone that is looking for an amazing alarm system decide to get the best on the market! From one extremely happy modder....